"James is just waiting for the injury to settle down. There's a lot of swelling but some injuries clear up quicker than you expect, as we found with Jack Dyer earlier in the season," said Rowett. "He was injured in training and we thought he might be out for a while, but then he played the next day. "Obviously, if Chris continues to experience soreness then we might have to send him for a scan."

Billy Kee will return to contention after missing the Rochdale game while on international duty with the Northern Ireland Under-21 squad. Oxford will be without the services of both James Constable and Sean McGinty. Striker Constable serves a one-match ban after being shown two yellow cards in last weekend's 4-2 defeat against Exeter.

Jon-Paul Pittman and Tom Craddock offer attacking options whilst young forward Tyrone Marsh may also be included. McGinty has returned to parent club Manchester United after the club decided to terminate his loan spell. The left-back was unable to dislodge Tony Capaldi in the starting line-up on a regular basis and struggled to settle.

Manager Chris Wilder is hoping to bring in a loan replacement, possibly in time for the weekend. Lee Cox, Michael Duberry, Liam Davis, Andy Whing and Harry Worley all continue to make progress after injury.